2011高考英语试题及答案（北京卷）
第三部分：阅读理解（共两节，40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，共30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
“I Went Skyping at 84!”
As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of for a woman to do that. I got a taste of that dream in 2011,when my husband arranged for me to ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday. But the experience turned out to be very dull. Around that time,I told my husband that I wanted to skype. So when our retirement community（社区）announced that they were having an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream.
In the essay, I wrote about my desire to skype, stating George Brush Sr. did it at age 80. Why not me? I was just 84 and in pretty good health. A year went by and I heard nothing. But then at a community party in late April 2009, they announced that I was one of the winners. I just couldn’t believe it. Inspired by this.I deeided to realize my dream,even though some of my family members and my doctor were against it.
On June 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered in the area close to where I would land while I headed up in the airplane. My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience. The plane was the noisiest one I had ever been in, but I wasn’t frightened—I was really just looking forward to the experience. When we reached 13,000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane. When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe. For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” But then everything got calmer. We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute（降落伞）, then we just floated downward for about five minutes. Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt—much better than the hot air ballon. I was just enjoying it.
Skyping was really one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don’t stop living just because you are 84 years old. If there’s something you want to experience, look into it. If it’s something that is possible, make it happen.
56. What happened to the auther in 2001?
A. She flew an airplane
B. She entered a competition
C. She went on a hot air balloon ride
D. She moved into a retirement community
57. The author mentioned George Bush Sr. in her essay to .
A. build up her own reputation
B. show her admiration for him
C. compare their health conditon
D. make her argument persuasive
58. How did the author feel immediately after she jumped out of the plane?
A. Excited B. Scared C. Nervous D. Regretful
59. What did the author enjoy most when she was skyping?
A.The beautiful clouds B. The wonderful view
C. The company of Jay D. The one-minute free fall
60. Before sending a manuscript to the Post, a contributor is advised to .
A. get a better understanding of American issues
B. find out the range of the articles in the post
C. increase his knowledge in many fields
D. broaden his research focus
submit nonfiction articles，a contributor must_____.
A. provide his special qualification
B. be a regular reader of the Post
C. produce printed version
D. be over 45 year old
62.From the passage we can learn that the Post .
A. allows article submission within six weeks
B. favor science articles within 2,000 words
C. have a huge demand for humorous works
D. prefers nonfiction to fiction article